Southern California -- this just in

Live discussion: Shuttle's L.A. flyover, South L.A. tree removal

September 19, 2012 | 12:40
pm

The space shuttle Endeavour landed in Houston's Ellington Field on Wednesday morning, the first leg of its two-day journey to its new home at the California Science Center in L.A. It is scheduled to reach Edwards Air Force base Thursday afternoon.

Times reporters Kate Mather and Angel Jennings will join city editor Shelby Grad at 1 p.m. PDT for a Google+ Hangout on the Endeavour's L.A. flyover and the controversial tree removal to make way for the craft in South L.A.

Disneyland, the Getty Center and Griffith Observatory are already on
the flyover list, and weather permitting, the retired orbiter will also be flown over
Venice Beach, Universal Studios, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the
Long Beach Aquarium and the Queen Mary, officials with the California
Science Center announced Wednesday.

The California Science Center
received final approval Monday to chop down 265 trees to make room for
the space shuttle Endeavour as it rolls through the streets of Los
Angeles.

Nearly 400 trees will be cut down in Inglewood and South Los Angeles in the 12-mile route between Los Angeles International Airport
and the shuttle's permanent home in Exposition Park. (Of those, 119 are
in South Los Angeles, 124 are in Westchester, 128 are in Inglewood and
the rest are near LAX).

Tweet your photos to @latimes or @lanow with the hashtag #SpotTheShuttle. Don't forget to tell us where you spotted it! Photos can also be uploaded here. Check back -- we'll be compiling the best reader photos.